Cool things we saw in 2024: The re-opened World Golf Hall of Fame
A short walk from the 18th green at Pinehurst No. 2 – where Payne Stewart, Martin Kaymer, Michelle Wie West, and Bryson DeChambeau won U.S. Open championships – the World Golf Hall of Fame reopened this summer.
Set among the North Carolina pines, the World Golf Hall of Fame houses an unparalleled collection of golf memorabilia and artifacts. If you want to learn about the history of the game or the men and women who have played the biggest roles in its growth over the past two centuries, this is the place to visit.
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Compared to the recently closed World Golf Hall of Fame location in Florida, the Pinehurst setting feels more intimate and personal.
Warm wooden floors and soft lighting give the space a clean, modern aesthetic without feeling pretentious. Visitors to Pinehurst for golf can easily spend 45 minutes or an hour exploring the Hall while staying immersed in the game.
After walking into the World Gold Hall of Fame, visitors are greeted by an assembly of major championship trophies. (Gabe Gudgel/Golfweek)
Winged Foot, Seminole and Oakmont are known for their historic courses and locker rooms, but nothing compares to the “Member Locker Room” inside the Hall of Fame. Rather than being divided into separate rooms and hallways, the Hall is housed in a large, open space organized in rows by era. Each of the 170 inductees has a personal locker filled with memorabilia and information.
Jack Nicklaus’s iconic 1-iron, used on the 17th hole at Pebble Beach during the 1972 U.S. Open, leans against the left side of his locker. Masashi “Jumbo” Ozaki’s locker holds a samurai sword, while Nancy Lopez’s Girl Scout sash, Babe Zaharias’s baseball glove, a model of Phil Mickelson’s private jet, and even Dan Jenkins’s typewriter are among the treasures on display.
Jack Nicklaus’s scorecard from the 1971 PGA Championship. (Gabe Gudgel/Golfweek)
At the end of the rows, touchscreens allow visitors to learn about Hall of Fame members, watch videos, and locate specific players’ lockers.
Michael Trostel, the Hall of Fame’s director, spoke with every living member in the months leading up to the reopening. Some lockers feature a small gold star, indicating places where visitors can use a free smartphone app to listen to inductees discuss the items in their displays.
The Hall of Fame honors more than just players. Legendary course architects like Donald Ross, Robert Trent Jones, and A.W. Tillinghast have lockers, as do cultural figures like Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, and Clifford Roberts, one of Augusta National Golf Club’s founders and longtime chairmen.
The era of “The New Millenium” features players like Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and others from the 2000s. (Gabe Gudgel/Golfweek)
Sprinkled among the filled lockers are spaces marked for future inductees, with room for about 30 years of new members. The most prized empty spot? Third from the end in the most recent era row, nestled between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson and just before Davis Love III.
Golfweek had staff members on-site at all the major championships in 2024, reported from the NCAA Championships and was allowed inside factories where some of the finest equipment is made, but nothing was cooler than strolling the aisles at the World Golf Hall of Fame and having a chance to walk among the giants of golf.
